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Legal (Page 8)

Legal articles relating to legislation, disputes and civil suits

In: Legal

Contributed By: Short Punch & Greatorix on

(By Martin Punch of Short Punch & Greatorix Lawyers) Many court cases involve the interpretation of legislation, which in some cases leaves room for a variety of interpretations.  This has particularly been the case with management rights, which has resulted in expense which can easily be avoided if more thought was given in the first place to what the legislation should say, to avoid unintended consequences. Three management rights cases illustrate the problem:- The Rocks Case This case revolved around what information had to be in Forms 22a under the old PAMDA Act, in relation to charges made for services organised by a letting agent,Read More →

In: Legal

Contributed By: Short Punch & Greatorix on

Management Rights usually operate on the basis that the Manager acts strictly as a Letting Agent for the unit owners who wish to let out their units on a permanent or holiday let basis. However, in some cases Managers have been entering into what is commonly known in the industry as “lease back” agreements with some unit owners.  This involves the Manager agreeing to pay the unit owner a guaranteed rent on the basis that the Manager is entitled to keep all income received from renting out the unit. Lease back arrangements may be considered by some Managers and unit owners to be more commerciallyRead More →

In: Body Corporate, Legal

Contributed By: Hynes Legal on

Hot on the heels of the lot entitlement review recommendations, we now have the recommendations paper in response to another of the BCCMA option papers. What is in this recommendations paper is not law, although it is what the QUT professors are suggesting should become law.  Responses to the paper can be lodged as detailed here and close on 5 May 2017. The recommendations paper (amongst other things) relates to: Towing of cars; Pets; Smoking; Overcrowding; Fining occupiers for breaching by-laws; Debt recovery costs; Australian addresses for service; and Scheme termination. Can anyone else smell an election coming on? There are 84 pages of recommendationsRead More →

In: Landlords, Tenants, Renting and Management, Legal

Contributed By: Hynes Legal on

There are new requirements for smoke alarms in all dwellings (being houses or units) from 1 January this year. The rules are not retrospective but they will apply when a dwelling is relet (whether to a new or existing tenant). You can click here for the QFES summary and here for a more detailed explanation. The OFT also has a section on it. All property managers should make sure their clients are aware of the requirements to comply with the new rules. There is little doubt where liability would sit if there was a fire and the smoke alarms were not compliant.Read More →

In: Body Corporate, Legal

Contributed By: Short Punch & Greatorix on

A valid and current Caretaking Agreement and Letting Agreement (“Agreement”) with a healthy term remaining is one of the most valuable assets in a management rights business. This is recognised by anyone with an interest in the business, including banks and potential purchasers. It is therefore imperative that Service Contractors and Letting Agents (“Building Managers”) understand the process that is involved in both exercising an option and adding an option to the term of their current Agreement. Exercising an Option to Renew The effect of not exercising an option can be disastrous. If a Building Manager does not exercise an option within the required timeRead More →

In: Body Corporate, General Interest, Legal

Contributed By: Hynes Legal on

It’s over. The longest running (and most expensive) dispute over a deck in Australia has been decided by the High Court.  There are no appeals from there so we now have the definitive statement on what a body corporate’s decision making obligations are based on. Round one went to the deck owner (Commissioner’s Office) Round two went to the complaining owners (QCAT) Round three went to the deck owner (Qld Supreme Court) We wrote an article after the Supreme Court decision here. The opponents to the deck won. The smartest group of lawyers in the country (being the High Court) has decided that the oppositionRead More →

In: Body Corporate, Legal, Uncategorized

Contributed By: Archers Body Corporate Management on

Throughout the year, unit owners are issued with a number of body corporate meeting notices. These notices could include information related to committee meetings, voting outside of committee meetings (known as flying minutes), and the annual general meeting. Current legislation specifies these notices must be issued within certain timeframes, which range from 7 – 21 days (including postage) from the date of the meeting. This timing ensures that unit owners and committee members have enough time to consider the contents of the notice to make informed decisions. The information in the annual general meeting notice is essential to unit owners, as it contains details about body corporate levies forRead More →

In: Legal

Contributed By: Hynes Legal on

Acquiescence.  Such a beautiful word.  But not when it comes to by-law enforcement. Enforcing by-laws is not an optional activity. By-laws must be enforced, and the responsibility for their enforcement lies with the committee. There are a few golden rules that all committees must follow when it comes to by-law enforcement. The by-law enforcement process in the Body Corporate and Community Management Act 1997 (BCCM Act) must be followed. The BCCM Act sets out a specific procedure for enforcing by-laws.  Regardless of your personal view on the effectiveness (or otherwise) of these procedures, the committee must follow them.  Deviate from the procedural requirements at yourRead More →

In: Body Corporate, Legal

Contributed By: Kerin Benson Lawyers Pty Ltd on

Pokemon Go is all over the news with stories of people walking out onto roads into the path of cars and others being lured into areas and then attacked. Someone has reportedly gone so far as to quit their job to play it full time. These are obviously extreme examples. What has been happening on a daily basis and which has only been touched upon in the news is that some property owners have been inundated with strangers entering their property when playing their game. This blog is to highlight some of the issues for owners corporations and community associations. First, what is Pokemon GO?Read More →

In: Accounting and Finance, Legal, The Management Rights Market

Contributed By: Short Punch & Greatorix on

Some time ago I published an article on what I thought was reasonable for a Body Corporate to request from a buyer of management rights, in considering whether or not a Body Corporate committee should consent to the transfer of management rights agreements to the buyer (See the original article here). This is an important issue, because under the Body Corporate and Community Management legislation, a Body Corporate committee must not unreasonably withhold approval to a transfer. Under the legislation, one of the matters which a Body Corporate committee may have regard to is the financial standing of the proposed transferee. My opinion as expressed in my previous article wasRead More →

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